Abstract
In this paper, we study the large-time asymptotic behavior of solutions of the one-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes system toward a contact discontinuity, which is one of the basic wave patterns for the compressible Euler equations. It is proved that such a weak contact discontinuity is a metastable wave pattern, in the sense introduced in [24], for the 1-D compressible Navier-Stokes system for polytropic fluid by showing that a viscous contact wave, which approximates the contact discontinuity on any finite-time interval for small heat conduction and then runs away from it for large time, is nonlinearly stable with a uniform convergence rate provided that the initial excess mass is zero. This result is proved by an elaborate combination of elementary energy estimates with a weighted characteristic energy estimate, which makes full use of the underlying structure of the viscous contact wave.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atkinson, F.V., Peletier, L.A.: Similarity solutions of the nonlinear diffusion equation. Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 54, 373–392 (1974)
Courant, R., Friedrichs, K.O.: Supersonic Flows and Shock Waves. Wiley- Interscience, New York, 1948
Duyn, C.T., Peletier, L.A.: A class of similarity solution of the nonlinear diffusion equation. Nonlinear Analysis T.M.A. 1, 223–233 (1977)
Goodman, J.: Nonlinear asymptotic stability of viscous shock profiles for conservation laws. Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 95, 325–344 (1986)
Hsiao, L., Liu, T.-P.: Nonlinear diffsusive phenomenia of nonliear hyperbolic systems. Chin. Ann. Math. 14, 465–480 (1993)
Huang, F.M, Matsumura, A.: Convergence rate of contact discontinuity for Navier-Stokes equations. Preprint, 2004
Huang, F.M, Matsumura, A., Shi, X.: On the stability of contact discontinuity for compressible Navier-Stokes equations with free boundary. Osaka J. Math. 41, 193–210 (2004)
Huang, F.M., Xin, Z.P., Yang, T.: Contact Discontinuity with General Perturbation for Gas Motion. Preprint, 2004
Huang, F.M., Zhao, H.J.: On the global stability of contact discontinuity for compressible Navier-Stokes equations. Rend. Sem. Mat. Univ. Padova 109, 283–305 (2003)
Kawashima, S., Matsumura, A.: Asymptotic stability of traveling wave solutions of systems for one-dimensional gas motion. Comm. Math. Phys. 101, 97–127 (1985)
Kawashima, S., Matsumura, A., Nishihara, K.: Asymptotic behavior of solutions for the equations of a viscous heat-conductive gas. Proc. Japan Acad. 62, Ser.A, 249–252 (1986)
Liu, T.-P.: Linear and nonlinear large time behavior of general systems of hyperbolic conservation laws. Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 30, 767–796 (1977)
Liu, T.-P.: Nonlinear Stability of Shock Waves for Viscous Conservation Laws. Mem. Amer. Math. Soc. 56, no. 328, 1–108 (1985)
Liu, T.-P.: Pointwise convergence to shock waves for viscous conservation laws. Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 50, 1113–1182 (1997)
Liu, T.-P., Xin, Z.P.: Nonlinear stability of rarefaction waves for compressible Navier-Stokes equations. Comm. Math. Phys. 118, 451–465 (1988)
Liu, T.-P., Xin, Z.P.: Pointwise decay to contact discontinuities for systems of viscous conservation laws. Asian J. Math. 1, 34–84 (1997)
Matsumura, A., Nishihara, K.: On the stability of traveling wave solutions of a one-dimensional model system for compressible viscous gas. Japan J. Appl. Math. 2, 17–25 (1985)
Matsumura, A., Nishihara, K.: Asymptotics toward the rarefaction waves of a one-dimensional model system for compressible viscous gas. Japan J. Appl. Math. 3, 3–13 (1985)
Matsumura, A., Nishihara, K.: Global stability of the rarefaction wave of a one-dimensional model system for compressible viscous gas. Commun. Math. Phys. 144, 325–335 (1992)
Nishihara, K., Yang, T., Zhao, H.-J.: Nonlinear stability of strong rarefaction waves for compressible Navier-Stokes equations. SIAM J. Math. Anal. 35, 1561–1597 (2004)
Smoller, J.: Shock Waves and Reaction-Diffusion Equations. Springer-Verlag, Second Edition, New York, 1994
Szepessy, A., Xin, Z.P.: Nonlinear stability of viscous shock waves. Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 122, 53–103 (1993)
Szepessy, A., Zumbrun, K.: Stability of rarefaction waves in viscous media. Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 133, 249–298 (1996)
Xin, Z.P.: On nonlinear stability of contact discontinuities. In: Hyperbolic problems: theory, numerics, applications (Stony Brook, NY, 1994), 249–257. World Sci. Publishing, River Edge, NJ, 1996
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by A. Bressan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huang, F., Matsumura, A. & Xin, Z. Stability of Contact Discontinuities for the 1-D Compressible Navier-Stokes Equations. Arch. Rational Mech. Anal. 179, 55–77 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00205-005-0380-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00205-005-0380-7